April 2013

Atlanta based band, The Deadfields, bring a rousing, rowdy, folk rock mixture of music to the stage every time they perform. Their rising popularity is not only due to their excellent songwriting, vocal, and musical abilities, but also to the “fun factor” that they bring to their shows. Their songs get people tapping toes and dancing in the aisles almost from the first note. We spoke to Geoff Reid and Brandon Markert from the band to get a feel for where they have come from and where they are headed. Be sure to check out the photos and videos of the band at the end of the article.

"Never heard of it. Where the heck is it in Fountain Inn?"

Being used to venturing to Main Street "Anytown", Haywood Rd, or Woodruff Rd for a good meal, those were the first words out of my mouth when a friend told me about the awesome food he had at Railhouse Restaurant. Always up for something new, April and I headed out on a Friday night to check it out and see exactly what got him so excited.

Gravitron performs at The Showroom in Spartanburg, SC - Photo by Mother Shutter

Gravitron is a Columbia, SC based band that plays instrumental surf tinged indie music. Their songs are retro yet futuristic at the same time, and their show is a lot of fun for the crowd. Three of the four members of Gravitron -Steve Nuzum, Ross Steppling, and Travis Woods - recently took the time to answer a few questions for Carolina Mixer. Be sure to check out the photos and videos at the end of the interview.

How and when did you guys decide to start the band?

Ross: I placed an ad in the casual encounters section of Craig’s List. Travis emailed me back the very next day. Once it started going stale, we started talking music and we realized we both played instruments and shared similar tastes in music.

Travis: In 2010, Ross and I were both pretending to be women while trolling the “casual encounters” section of craigslist.org. After numerous encounters of a casual nature, we realized our mutual interests extended beyond bears and furries, so we started a band.

Steve: Ross, Travis, and Alex got together a couple of years ago. Legend has it they met through the “casual encounters” section of Craigslist. I’d played in another band in Columbia with Ross, Norwegian Blue, and he asked me to come play some keyboards, since I’d played them on the one record Norwegian Blue made (although I’d been mainly a singer and guitar player in that band).